


Imagine

by Minuete



Series: His and Her Angst [26]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: Angst, F/M, Profiler Mulder, Tumblr "I love you" Prompt, UST, flirting?, prompt fulfilled, season 5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-11-07 14:51:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17962640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minuete/pseuds/Minuete
Summary: Set sometime in Season 5, profiler Mulder taking a break to tease Scully.





	Imagine

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr prompt fulfilled for @lappina: #31 In awe, the first time you realized it. 
> 
> Aaahhh!!! The possible endless debate of “the moment” with this prompt! But it’s not answered in this story. 
> 
> This story was a chapter in a WIP casefile that I lost steam to finish. You can say I’m cheating as I integrated the prompt into this now angsty one-shot.

“This UNSUB is trying not to be a typical serial killer,” Mulder stated as he stared at the crime scene photos and type-written notes from the killer strewn across Scully’s kitchen table alongside empty takeout food containers. “Except you can see that he’s trying too hard to throw us off his trail with these juvenile cryptograms. The guy thinks he’s clever. We can use this to our advantage.”

“Typical serial killer?” Scully repeated curiously, “You mean like what you described in your monograph about serial killers and the occult?”

“It was my dissertation, actually, while in Oxford,” Mulder clarified looking up, then asked dubiously, “You’ve read it?”

She chewed on the inside of her cheek before she responded, “Your monograph was required reading for the Criminal Profiling course at the Academy.”

“I didn’t think they’d go that far as to make my dissertation required reading,” Mulder replied sheepishly, “Not with Bill Patterson’s handbook on Behavioral Sciences anyway.” Scully arched an eyebrow at him. He ceased to surprise her with his self-deprecation. Mulder’s monograph was still considered the benchmark of apprehending serial killers on a textbook-level, but she knew that profiling was more art than science, something that she naturally didn’t have as an investigator. While Mulder could connect the dots by leaps and bounds over local law enforcement, Scully took the meticulous, methodical route that her rational mind could comprehend– often able to find a small gap in law enforcement’s investigations that would generate new leads.

“Hold on a second,” she told him. She disappeared into her bedroom to grab a small box out of her closet and placed it atop her bed. It held some textbooks and notes that she deemed vital after she completed the Academy. She quickly opened the box and sifted through the items until she found what she wanted. Scully could feel a slight blush creep up to her cheeks as she stared at the spiral-bound booklet. She returned to the kitchen table.

She cleared her throat to get Mulder’s attention while he stood up to rearrange the photos and the letters on the table. “What exactly is the UNSUB trying to debunk?” she asked as she opened up the booklet full of post-it flags, highlighted words, and hand-written notes on the margins. She leaned against her kitchen table beside Mulder.

“Scully…” Mulder said delightfully, “ever the rapt student.” He noticed that the booklet was well-used as Scully looked at him expectantly, “It should be in Chapter 3. I wrote something about delineation and deviation.”

“…’In essence by deviating from one’s modus operandi, the outlier case then becomes the delineation for local law enforcement to follow, as the UNSUB is perfecting his mode of killing his victims…’” Scully read aloud. It was a sentence that she had highlighted years ago.

“It sounds better when you read it,” Mulder smirked as he leaned against the dining room wall seemingly taking a break from looking at crime scene photos lost in his thoughts.

“What is it, Mulder?” she asked with a curious expression on her face. Focusing his gaze on her, he chuckled.

“Ever the rapt student,” he repeated as he reached over and gently tapped the tip of Scully’s nose with his index finger. The gesture caused Scully’s expression to sour as he continued to tease, “It’s a shame I missed out on guest instructing for your cohort. Could you have imagined the two of us meeting at the Academy?”

“Because you love slide projector presentations, I could imagine you guest lecturing actually, but not for my cohort.”

“Oh? Why not?”

“You were preoccupied with the Roche case,” Scully reminded him. “I graduated from the Academy in 1990.”

“Humor me, Scully. I would’ve been your favorite lecturer.”

“You sound pretty confident, Mulder.” He grinned.

“I would look the part of an intellect, wearing my metal-rimmed glasses while fielding questions. I would’ve loved to have answered your questions about my dissertation. I could see a question right there in the margin,” he pointed to a phrase of Scully-scribble that he learned to decipher over the years, “‘How does one—‘“

Scully quickly shut the booklet and held it away from Mulder as her other hand shot out to cover his mouth.

“Don’t you dare,” Scully warned as she furiously blushed from embarrassment. He gently peeled her hand away from his mouth to continue his thought.

“You’d be seated near the front of the class, notebook and pencil ready to take notes. I’m sure that Ass Hat Tom Colton would be seated beside you because how else was he going to pass Criminal Profiling? I’d present to the class a case I helped solve and discuss the methodology Patterson taught at BSU. I would then contrast his methodology with my monograph to show how I caught the killer.” Scully raised an eyebrow, her blush disappearing as she listened intently. Mulder had a hint of a smirk.

“By this time, I would be mentally weeding out the folks who had the mental fortitude to stomach this line of work based on their reaction to the crime scene photos and attentiveness in class. Because the material I’m teaching is really from the trenches, I’ll be asked to come in the next day to continue lecturing. That’s when you’re in awe, the first time you realize it.”

“Realize what?” Scully looked confused. Mulder leaned forward to straighten up from the wall, a glint in his eye as his mouth neared the shell of Scully’s right ear when he answered in a low, conspirative tone.

“That you look forward to seeing me again because I became your favorite guest instructor.” Repressed, unbidden images of Daniel popped into Scully’s mind. Her naïve transgression during medical school rotation. Troubled by the memory, she brushed a lock of hair behind her ear avoiding Mulder’s gaze. She hated his perceptiveness at times; Mulder sensed her discomfort.

“Shit! Sorry, Scully. I forgot about Jack. It’s just a ridiculous musing on my end.” He backed away. She frowned hearing Jack’s name mentioned. Why did she remember Daniel, but not Jack? A pang of latent Catholic guilt resurfacing?

“No, I’m fine, Mulder.” She smiled a nervous smile as she rolled up the booklet in her hands, tried to reassure him that she was indeed fine. “I think your musing wouldn’t be too far off the mark had you been a guest lecturer for my cohort.”

She looked up then and saw him worrying his bottom lip as he studied her. Should she tell him? She hadn’t told anyone about Daniel, not even to Missy. Another awkward moment passed until Mulder moved to quickly gather the evidence on the table to place in its folder.

“I’m just going to call it a night, Scully. We’ll continue tomorrow.” Wordlessly, she helped Mulder tidy up her kitchen table. She called out to him when he opened the front door, file and coat in hand.

“Had it played out like the way you described, then we wouldn’t be here. Does that make sense?” She was staring at his back willing him to turn around to face her. To see what she meant in her eyes. He slumped his shoulders in response instead.

“Mulder—“ He slammed the door shut before she could continue.

**Author's Note:**

> I swear the original story was really cute!


End file.
